The Tiger Who Took the Revenge Script

"What is it?" Chen Luo quickly pressed.

Chen Ping squinted slightly, as if recalling, and said, "Two years ago, during the autumn harvest, Wang Xigui, a tenant farmer from Xiaoxi Village east of the city, came to the manor, saying a tiger had run out of West Xiu Mountain and taken his wife. The Young Miss was out on business at the time, so I reported it to you, Young Master."

Having said this, Chen Ping glanced sidelong at Chen Luo. Chen Luo was taken aback—with his predecessor's personality, such a matter would have been completely dismissed, so he had no memory of it.

"What did I say then?" Chen Luo asked.

"You told this old servant to handle it as I saw fit..." Chen Ping continued. "So I took the liberty of finding Zhou Yong, a hunter from Xiaoxi Village, gave him twenty taels of silver, and sent a dozen or so estate hands as helpers. We went into West Xiu Mountain, caught that tiger, and surrounded and killed it."

"And then?"

"At the time, Zhou Yong scouted the tiger's den and said there should have been two tigers nearby, a male and a female. But after killing the female, the male was nowhere to be found. To be safe, I had people search the area for a few more days, but we never found that male tiger, so I pulled everyone back. Young Master, could it be that the male tiger cultivated into a spirit and came back for revenge?"

Chen Luo pondered briefly. In this world, beasts becoming spirits was nothing unusual. Leaving aside those lucky enough to consume some Heavenly Material or Earthly Treasure, the three paths of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism—Daoism preaching the Way, Buddhism offering universal salvation, and Confucianism enlightening—could all give beasts a chance to awaken intelligence and transform into monsters. It was entirely possible that some lofty figure had spoken a golden word, granting the escaped male tiger cultivation and turning it into a Tiger Demon.

"Is Zhou Yong still around?" Chen Luo asked.

Chen Ping suddenly realized and said, "Now that you mention it, Young Master, I recall. Before our Chen family's troubles, Zhou Yong went into the mountains and never returned. It's been about a month now."

Chen Luo frowned again and called out softly, "Zhong Kui!"

Zhong Kui's figure slowly materialized behind Chen Luo. Chen Luo had already explained Zhong Kui's presence to Chen Ping earlier, but Chen Ping hadn't expected his appearance to be so hideous. His heart pounded with terror, his legs went weak, but he forced himself to maintain the dignity of the Chen manor's steward, merely turning his face away to avoid looking at Zhong Kui.

Chen Luo didn't notice Chen Ping's expression and asked Zhong Kui, "Did you find anything from eating that tamed ghost?"

Zhong Kui nodded and said, "That tamed ghost hadn't been formed long—at most a month. Deep in its soul, there were still some fragmented memories from when it was human. Chaotic, but I could vaguely make out that it made its living by hunting..."

"So that tamed ghost is most likely Zhou Yong transformed..." Chen Luo mused. "Then the Tiger Demon that harmed our Chen manor must be that missing male tiger."

"Then... what do we do now?" Chen Ping asked instinctively. He had always regarded Chen Luo as his own, wearing "genius" blinders, and wasn't surprised by Chen Luo's current performance. Instead, he felt this was truly the son of his master speaking.

Chen Luo thought for a moment and said, "That Tiger Demon killed so many people; its body must be reeking with blood aura, so it wouldn't dare approach the county town. Since it originally came from West Xiu Mountain, it's likely hiding there too."

"I remember Father once said that officials of the Great Xuan Dynasty can activate their Official Seal, consuming the dynasty's fortune to investigate the aura of Demons and Barbarians in an area. The entire Wan'an County is too large; unless it's a critical moment, Magistrate Cai certainly won't use fortune to probe the whole city. But if it's just West Xiu Mountain, my Chen family can afford the price."

"Uncle Ping, go to the accounts and withdraw two thousand taels of silver!"

"Two thousand taels?" Chen Ping was startled. The Chen manor relied on Chen Xuan to manage affairs, dealing in rice, grain, mulberry, and silk. Their annual income was roughly four thousand taels. After deducting daily expenses and bribes, the silver that entered the treasury each year was only about two thousand five hundred taels. For Chen Luo to demand nearly a year's worth of stored silver in one go made Chen Ping momentarily doubt whether Chen Luo had been possessed by someone else.

"Young Master, shouldn't we ask the Young Miss?" Chen Ping hesitated for a moment before tentatively suggesting.

Chen Luo frowned slightly. To be honest, his predecessor had never been too concerned with money, and he himself, though a broke corporate slave in his past life, had no real concept of silver. The reason he'd said "two thousand taels" was because he vaguely remembered that the county office could mobilize the dynasty's fortune to support the clan schools of wealthy families, and the price was clearly set—one thousand taels for a county's wealthy clan.

Of course, the county office would then use that silver to build bridges, repair roads, support orphans and widows, and subsidize official schools, which in turn made the dynasty's fortune even stronger.

Seeing Chen Ping's reaction, Chen Luo realized that two thousand taels was no small sum for the Chen family. He was about to agree to ask Chen Xuan's opinion, but then thought better of it. This silver was tied to the safety of the Chen manor—an expense that couldn't be avoided. Chen Xuan had just been seriously injured; there was no need to add to her worries. So he hardened his expression and said, "Let Chen Xuan rest well. I'll handle this!"

Chen Ping was stunned. The Young Master was actually taking responsibility! It seemed the master was right—men mature in an instant. He quickly nodded and said, "I... I'll go to the accounts and withdraw the silver notes right away."

"Mm, go ahead. I'll wait for you at the gate. Don't alert anyone else for now. The Tiger Demon probably still doesn't dare to attack the county town."

Chen Ping hurriedly acknowledged and turned to leave. Chen Luo then looked back at Zhong Kui. When Zhong Kui had appeared earlier, as the master of the Book Spirit, he had sensed a weakening in Zhong Kui's aura.

"What's wrong with you? Were you injured fighting that tamed ghost?"

Zhong Kui was taken aback and bowed to Chen Luo. "Forgive me for troubling you, Master. This one is fine. It's just that this Nether Land is somewhat strange. Once you've dealt with the Tiger Demon, Master, I'll report it in full."

Chen Luo nodded upon hearing this. Zhong Kui was originally a great judge of the underworld, so it wasn't surprising that the "Zhong Kui" Book Spirit he had manifested could enter the Nether Land. But right now, dealing with the Tiger Demon was the top priority, so he didn't press further.

Exiting the Chen manor's gate, they were on Xi'an Street, one of Wan'an County's three main thoroughfares. This street was lined with the mansions of the county's wealthy and powerful, interspersed with a few schools and clinics. It was the third watch of the night, and there were few pedestrians about. Chen Ping drove a carriage out from the manor, and Chen Luo stepped aboard, ducking into the cabin. As Chen Ping drove on, Chen Luo began to ponder how to face the county's top figure—Magistrate Cai Tongchen!

The third watch was roughly between 11 PM and 1 AM. Based on his past life experience, Chen Luo would never knock on a leader's door at this hour. The timing was far too private; the other party could be doing anything.

But now, Chen Luo had no choice. According to Zhong Kui, the Tiger Demon needed the tamed ghost to return before it could learn what the ghost had done, so for now, the Tiger Demon didn't know the ghost had been eaten by Zhong Kui. But if the tamed ghost didn't return by dawn, the Tiger Demon would surely know something was wrong, and things might take an unpredictable turn.

Second, Chen Luo dared to do this for another reason: Cai Tongchen had a deep friendship with Chen Luo's deceased, nominal father, who was said to have once guided him. That Chen Xuan, a woman, could keep the Chen manor's business afloat and even develop it further owed no small part to Cai Tongchen's support.

The moon was bright, the stars sparse. The county office wasn't far from the Chen manor. After about twenty minutes of travel, Chen Ping drove the carriage to the rear of the county office. The magistrate's official residence was in the rear office, naturally with a grand main gate at the back. Chen Ping went up and knocked. In a moment, a gatekeeper opened the door, rubbing sleepy eyes. Before he could let out a curse, he saw a lump of snow-white silver handed over. He quickly swallowed his words, took the silver with his left hand while smiling ingratiatingly, accepted the Calling Card with his right, said "Wait a moment," and closed the door.

Only then did Chen Ping understand why Chen Xuan was certain Advisor Li would come to guide them. At this hour, the gatekeeper certainly wouldn't dare to go directly to Cai Tongchen; he'd first find his uncle, Advisor Li. As a staff advisor, Li naturally had his own quarters in the official residence.

But what Chen Luo hadn't expected was that instead of Advisor Li, a sharp aura shot out from the rear office, striking Chen Luo's carriage. The entire cabin shattered into pieces. Chen Luo saw a dignified middle-aged scholar in a long robe fly out from the rear office, sword in hand, pointing at him as he shouted—

"What demon dares to possess my nephew's body? You might fool my niece and all the servants, but you can't fool me, Cai Tongchen—"

The sea gives birth to a bright moon; at the ends of the earth, we share this moment.

In the lonely night of writing, how to ease this longing?

Answer: Recommendations, collections, monthly tickets.

Please support~~~